Futures Philanthropy

Why futures thinking and philanthropy?

In fostering long-term thinking, the idea of the future becomes a tool and a process to shape present decisions. Each philanthropy practitioner and organisation follow a unique path. Some try new learning methods, create long-term strategies and granting mechanisms, and involve communities and youth in decision-making. Futures thinking empowers us to challenge dominant images of the future by imagining alternative scenarios, and amplifying our sense of agency through the belief that today’s choices can shape tomorrow’s realities. 

Futures thinking and foresight can enable philanthropy to live up to its potential of being forward-looking, risk-taking, and innovative. By developing a futures culture, philanthropy can stay open and flexible and expand its toolbox with new, non-linear strategies and practices to embrace complexity and uncertainty as a feature of our times.

Futures Philanthropy activities

Through the Future Philanthropy initiative, we collectively create futures literacy, offering research and opportunities for collaboration and learning to bolster the relevance, legitimacy, and impact of European philanthropy.   

Learning and applying knowledge to philanthropic and civil society context

• We co-create and share futures literacy, knowledge, skills and tools, to encourage practitioners to apply futures thinking to their contexts, spanning strategy, investments, grant and programme design, partnerships and innovation. As part of this, we are developing a series of case studies on how foundations apply futures thinking in their work: A New Social Contract: The Gulbenkian Foundation and Dare to Anticipate: Mercator Foundation Switzerland
  
• Through the Futures Philanthropy Gathering of Leaders, we provide a space for peer-learning and collective action towards regenerative society.

Collaborating and acting together

• Our Futures Philanthropy Community of Practice brings together CEOs, board members, heads of strategy and learning, foresight specialists, researchers and programme managers of philanthropic foundations and philanthropy networks.
• We use foresight and futures thinking to create scenarios, collaborate and act at an ecosystem level.

Co-creating evidence and inspiring the field

• Through the ThinkLab sessions (our “kitchen of foresight”) we co-create evidence and anticipate the key drivers of change impacting European philanthropy.
• We bring visibility to inspiring futures-oriented philanthropic practices and share the learnings through case studies.